Language Terms

Here are some language terms and their definitions. Visit the links to get a further understanding of each definition.

dictionaryguy


acquisition: "The process by which language skills are developed", either during infancy or while learning a non-native language (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

Language acquisition

agreement: "The grammatical logic and coherence between parts of a sentence" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

Subject-verb agreement

clause: "A structural unit of language which is smaller than the sentence but larger than phrases or words, and which contains a finite verb" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

Dependent and independent clauses

dialect: "A form of speech peculiar to a district, class, or person" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009). Two different dialects of English are American English and British English.

Wikipedia article on dialects

figure of speech: "Expressive use language in non-literal form to produce striking effect" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009). An example would be "You're driving me crazy!" or "He's getting on my nerves".

Different figures of speech

grammar: "The study of sentence structure, especially with reference to syntax and semantics" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

Here's an excellent grammar site

homonyms: "Words with the same spelling or sound but with different meanings" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

A list of common homonyms

irony: "Saying or writing one thing, while meaning the opposite" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

An explanation of irony

intonation: "The use of pitch in speech to create contrast and variation" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

Wikipedia article on intonation

jargon: "The technical language of an occupation or group" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

The Business Jargon Dictionary

onomatopoeia: "A word that sounds like the thing it describes" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009). Examples include words such as buzz, boom, and bang.

A list of onomatopoeias

oxymoron: "A figure of speech which combines two contradictory terms" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

A list of common oxymorons

slang: "Informal, non-standard vocabulary" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

Commonly-Used American Slang

synonym: "A word which means (almost) the same as another" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

Find synonyms to different words

tense: "The form taken by a verb to indicate time (as in past-present-future)" (Glossary of English Language Terms, 2009).

Different grammar tenses explained

Source

Glossary of English Language Terms. (2009, September 15). Mantex. Retrieved from http://www.mantex.co.uk/2009/09/15/english-language-a-glossary-of-terms/


Steven Robinson
sbrobinson85@gmail.com
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